Rice Situation in The Gambia CARD 2nd Group Countries NRDS Development Regional Workshop Cotonou, Benin 5 - 9 July, 2010 Presented by Alphu Jain Marong

Introduction Agriculture employs approximately 70% of the population Contributes about 30% of the GDP About 25% of GDP and 90% of domestic export earnings derived from agriculture

Importance of Rice in The Gambia Rice is the staple in The Gambia 66% of income is spent on food 83.2% of Cereal and Cereal products is rice Rice development agenda is high-lighted in the following national documents PRSP I&II, GNAIP, Vision 2020 - These documents emphasize transforming The Gambia into an exported-oriented agriculture

Rice Production Systems Predominantly rainfed 85.8% of total hectarage 57.8% of total paddy production Ecologies Upland (pure rainfed) Hydromorphics (Bantafaros) Freshwater tidal swamps Mangrove tidal swamps Water controlled irrigated swamps Improved freshwater tidal Low-lift pump irrigation

Rice Map of The Gambia Freshwater Irrigated swamps Upland / Hydromorpic Mangrove swamps Rice Map of The Gambia

Total Rice production and Demand Population: 1.8 million Per capitata consumption: 117.33 kg Demand: 211,194 MT (milled rice) Production: 22,980 MT (milled rice) % Self sufficiency: 11% Deficit: 89% With emphasis on irrigation, with just 20,000ha under intensification and improved productivity, 68% of national demand can be achieved

Major Constraints to Sustainable Increased Rice Production Climatic/Environmental Constraints The adverse effects of climate change (The Gambia is located in the Sahel, the most vulnerable region to drought in the world) Soil degradation Socio-Economic Constraints Lack of ready access to inputs and farm implements Lack of remunerating marketing channels

National Policies and Strategies for Sustainable Increased Rice Production Short-term Strategies Intensive promotion of the NERICAs Improved seed production Medium and Long-term Strategies Improve national capacity (human resource and infrastructure) Increase current manpower by 20% per annum up to 2018: Rice Agronomist (6), Seed technologist (2), Post-harvest specialists (1), Agricultural mechanics (2), Research technicians (9), Extension (3)

Conclusion The priority agro-ecology for achieving increased rice production is irrigated. Largely unexploited vast fertile lowland swamps along the river Gambia Abundant surface water for year round irrigation within the freshwater zone of the river A semi-arid tropical climatic with high solar radiation A growing season of normally 365 days The development and expansion of improved irrigation infrastructure, and a commercially-managed agricultural production management system, emphasizing value-chain approach, would enhance sustainable increased rice production and productivity